1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure pertains to the field of heat removal from electronic components. More particularly, this disclosure relates to heat removal from a computing device which mates with another device such as a docking station.
2. Description of Related Art
Faster and more powerful computer components allow the design and construction of higher performance portable computing devices such as laptop or notebook computers. Unfortunately, the use of such faster and more powerful computer components often results in increased heat generation by such computing devices. Thus, improved heat dissipation technology is often needed to maintain operating temperatures of portable computing devices within the same range as their predecessors or some other acceptable range.
Maintaining operating temperatures of computer system components below certain levels is important to ensure performance, reliability, and safety. Most integrated circuits have specified maximum operating temperatures, above which the manufacturer does not recommend operation. Additionally, most integrated circuits have timing specifications that specify a window of time in which input signals need to be received for proper functioning as well as a window of time in which output signals are generated under normal operating conditions. Transistors, the building blocks of integrated circuits, tend to slow down as operating temperature increases. Thus, a computer system that operates its integrated circuits close to or beyond recommended timing specifications may fail as temperature increases.
Additionally, integrated circuits may be physically damaged if temperatures elevate beyond those recommended. Such physical damage obviously can impact system reliability. Finally, the computer system casing should be kept at a temperature which is safe for human contact. This may necessitate spreading of heat throughout a computer system base or efficiently expelling heat to avoid hot spots near certain components such as a processor.
Typically, heat sinks, fans, and heat pipes are employed to dissipate heat from integrated circuits and other electronic components. Increases in heat generation are often accommodated by simply increasing the quantity or size of these heat dissipation elements. The relatively small size of a portable computing device, however, complicates heat dissipation by limiting airflow, crowding heat generating components, and reducing the space available for heat dissipation devices.
A docking station is a well known computing device that mates with a portable computing device to allow the portable computing device access to various resources available to the docking station. Many portable devices such as personal digital assistants and/or organizers and communication devices may utilize such a docking station arrangement. Additionally, many portable computers (i.e., laptops or notebook computers) can operate in a docking station arrangement. Alternatively, a docking station may be any device that mates with, receives, or holds a portable computing or other electronic device.
In the case of portable computers, the base of the portable computer typically connects to the docking station to allow use of a larger monitor and a full size keyboard among other things. This advantageously allows a portable computer user to operate a portable computing device in a more ergonomic desktop computer setting rather than using the small keyboard and screen often provided in a portable computing device.
Mating a portable computing device with a docking station often compounds the difficulty of cooling portable computing devices because the display is typically closed. This reduces the natural or passive cooling capability of the portable computing device because convective airflow over the top of the base is mostly blocked by the screen. Additionally, portable computers are now being designed to operate in a higher power mode when docked at the docking station, resulting in the generation of more heat to dissipate.
The prior art does not sufficiently take advantage of docking stations to dissipate heat. Particularly, the prior art does not provide an economical heat exchanger which transfers heat from a portable computing device to a docking station for dissipation via connectors which are designed to withstand repeated insertion and removal cycles and still provide low thermal resistance between the portable computing device and the docking station.